Often Irreverent, Mostly Rational Blog for Fans of the Toronto Blue Jays. One Day, We'll Be Perfect.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

What's that awful taste in our mouth

Is it the two days worth of retching until we blew out the capillaries around our eyes, or is it the fact that we just watched the Jays, with last night's 5-3 loss to the Disney World Rays, slip into last place in the AL East.

We're leaning towards the latter.

A few thoughts on the past couple of nights.

How many catchers can you fit into one lineup? Apparently, at least three. With Zaunie handling the actual catching duties, Rod Barajas taking over for an ailing Lyle Overbay at first, and rookie Robinson Diaz DHing, the Jays packed the lineup with backstops last night. Being the negative Nellies that we are, we immediately started contemplating what would happen if Gorman Thomas came crashing into Zaun, and the Jays were forced to re-jig the lineup on the go. Thankfully, all three of them made it through the game healthy, although their performance (0-11, topped off by a Diaz flailing at a Troy Percival breaking ball for strike three in the ninth) left something to be desired.

At least were not along in our misery: Apparently, we're not the only ones who are miserably sick. There is some sort of flu-like thing going through the Jays' clubhouse, which felled Alex Rios last night. Not that we're looking to make excuses for the team, but if they had anything close to what we had, then we get why they've looked listlessly awful over the past week, losing six of their last eight.

Who needs a bullpen? It took Roy Halladay 107 pitches to get through last night's game for his second straight complete game loss. The question for us is: Are the Jays running the risk of burning him out this early in the season? Doc looked fine at that point, and his greatest strength is his efficiency, so surely there's nothing to worry about. Right?

Does anyone know why Gibbons puts the lousiest defensive setup in behind Roy Halladay? Stewart in left and Stairs in right? BARAJAS at first? Scutaro at third and John McDonald nowhere to be found. When Doc is pitching, you should support him more with defense, rather than marginally better offense. Your ace has a better chance of getting a win in a low scoring game, rather than trying to score a few extra runs, and hoping that he can strike out 27 guys!! It makes me think that management is trying to piss off Halladay so that he'll demand to be traded, and they can dump his salary easily...just like they did to Frank Thomas, and Shea Hillenbrand !!! Remember...you heard it from ME first!!!!!

Hillenbrand BEGGED the jays to let him stay with them when there was talks he would be traded. He couldn't stop raving about how much he LOVED playing here...so the only way for them to get rid of him, was to treat him like shit, and hope that he'd get the hint. The same thing with Thomas...he couldn't stop talking about how he felt he could help the team win, and WANTED to help them win. But he couldn't do it from the BENCH!!